The Cowboys placed wide receiver Amari Cooper on the Reserve/COVID list on Friday. While his exact status for the long-term was not immediately made public, the timing of the move made him ineligible to play this Sunday versus Kansas City.
Within hours, the news got worse. Multiple outlets, including ESPN and the Dallas Morning News, cited sources in reports that Cooper is not fully vaccinated and tested positive for the virus himself. That combination of factors triggers a mandatory quarantine of ten days, ruling him out of not only Week 11’s game, but Thursday’s contest against the Las Vegas Raiders as well.
The Cowboys held their walkthrough as scheduled and will practice on Saturday before flying to Kansas City. The team has reportedly had no COVID issues with other players or staffers stemming from Cooper’s test.
The news comes as a blow to the Cowboys offense as they go into a highly-anticipated meeting of two Super Bowl contenders. Dallas had been without fellow wide receiver Michael Gallup for seven games with a calf injury; he just returned to action last week against Atlanta and will need to help shoulder the load in the passing game, along with second-year phenom CeeDee Lamb.
Cedrick Wilson should get the Week 11 start, with Noah Brown and Malik Turner also figuring to be more involved off the bench with Cooper out.
The Cowboys’ traditional Thanksgiving Day tilt against the Raiders was to be Cooper’s first time facing his former squad since being traded during the 2018 season. The four-time Pro Bowler could return in time to participate in the Week 13 game versus the Saints in New Orleans on Dec. 2 if he has no further COVID complications.
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